These exclusive photographs capture the sheer fury which drove lifelong friends and two of Sydney’s highest-profile businessmen, James Packer and David Gyngell, to trade blows like cage fighters on a Bondi Beach footpath.

Packer, his face red with rage, neck veins bulging and jaw clenched, looks more Raging Bull than billionaire gaming mogul as he shapes up to Gyngell, Nine Entertainment’s CEO.

Gyngell, posing like a “mad dog” martial-arts veteran with his bare feet and grizzly beard, let fly with a series of punches to his mate’s head.

David Gyngell is wrestled to the ground by security following a fight with James Packer.Source:Media Mode

“When Packer got out of his car, Gyngell came around to his side of the car and within seconds it just exploded,’’ said Beirne.

Beirne had been following Packer on Sunday in the hope of taking a picture of him with his rumoured love interest, model Miranda Kerr, who arrived back in Australia last week.

“I’ve covered riots before but nothing like this involving two such wealthy and high-profile people,’’ he said.

After the pair unleashed a flurry of fisticuffs, Packer clamped Gyngell in a headlock and wrestled him to the footpath.

David Gyngell leaves James Packers unit block at Bondi this morning. Picture: John GraingSource:News Corp Australia

David Gyngell’s wife Leila McKinnon pictured with a friend pictured leaving The Book KitcSource:News Corp Australia

The pair, who have been friends for 35 years and acted as best men as their respective weddings, let fly with a torrent of expletives at each other as security guards tried to pull them apart.

It took three men — Packer’s security guard, his driver and a fellow passenger in his car — to break up the melee and shepherd him inside his house.

A man believed to be a doctor arrived at the Packer home about an hour later, while one person emerged from the house to search the footpath. It is unknown if the person was searching for a missing tooth or merely retrieving Packer’s sunglasses.

The relationship between the childhood friends is said to broken down after Packer and his second wife Erica announced their separation six months ago.